In October representatives of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, and Eviction Defense Network filed paperwork to start the ball rolling on an initiative that would overturn the Costa-Hawkins Act. Costa-Hawkins, passed by the California Legislature in 1995, placed limits on cities' ability to enact rent control ordinances. Tenant advocates say repeal is needed because of increasing housing costs and the rising number of evictions. Landlords and real estate interests argue that rent control suppresses new construction of residential housing.

This will definitely be one of the major battles of 2018. Read more about it on Curbed.

Once again the proposed Home Sharing Ordinance was on the docket for the Planning & Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee in October, and once again a decision was postponed. The Ordinance would place restrictions on Short-Term Rentals (STRs, i.e. Airbnb, VRBO, etc.). One of the key issues is a cap on the number of days a unit could be used as an STR. Housing advocates argue that the limit must be 90 days or less, because anything higher makes it more profitable for landlords to turn apartments into hotel rooms. While this is already illegal, the practice is rampant throughout LA, and the City Attorney has done almost nothing to enforce existing laws. Take a look at the Ordinance for yourself by clicking on the link below.

On the last day of October, the Planning & Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee recommended that the Hollywood Reporter Building be designated a Historic-Cultural Monument. The building could be threatened with demolition by the massive Crossroads Hollywood project which would rise at the intersection of Sunset and Highland. Preservationists and members of the Hollywood community argued that the building was an important piece of Hollywood history, and the PLUM Committee listened. The recommendation must be voted on by the full City Council before being finalized.

Thanks to Hollywood Heritage, The Art Deco Society, The LA Conservancy, and the many members of the community who worked so hard to make this happen. To learn more about the building, check out the Conservancy's write-up on it.

On October 12 the City Planning Commission gave their blessing to a huge new development in the largely immigrant, low-income community surrounding Westlake/MacArthur Park. The project includes a 41-story apartment tower, the conversion of a 14-story office building into a hotel, and a new multicultural center. Jenna Monterrosa, of the Department of City Planning, said the project would “bring much-needed housing to Westlake.” But housing for who? While The Lake on Wilshire will include 49 very-low-income units, the remaining 400+ units will be far beyond the reach of the people who live in the community, and if recent history is any indication, this development will trigger yet another wave of gentrification and displacement in a low-income area. Ellis Act evictions in 2017 are already on track to exceed last year's number of 1,372. With more projects like this in the pipeline, you can be sure that in 2018 the number will rise even higher.

According to real estate research group CoStar, Downtown has a 12% vacancy rate. But has that stopped City Hall from approving a slew of new high-rises? Of course not. The Department of City Planning never allows reality to get in the way of rampant real estate specualtion. The 35-story Perla has just broken ground at Fourth and Broadway. The City Planning Commission just approved a 33-story high-rise at Seventh and Maple. Earlier this year Mack Urban completed 362 luxury units at Pico and Olive, and now they're working on the second phase, a 32-story mixed-use tower. And to top it all off, a 70-story tower is planned for the corner of Eleventh and Olive.

While some of these projects include a percentage of affordable units, the vast majority of this new housing will be completely unaffordable to Angelenos earning the area median income. And there are many more luxury units on the way. Here's a round up from the Downtown News.

Anybody who's been following development in Los Angeles for any length of time knows that the Department of City Planning will approve almost any project, no matter how bad it is. This has led to an increasing number of project appeals, and apparently some folks at City Hall are looking for a way to slow that trend down. In order to discourage appeals, the City Administrative Officer has suggested raising the filing fee to $13,000. Many residents are outraged, and some are wondering how the City arrived at this outlandish figure. You can read more in this article from the Los Feliz Ledger.

Over the past few years SnapChat has moved into Venice aggressively, leasing over 20 properties and remaking the community's landscape into a playground for affluent techies. Many Venice residents have had enough. They say the company is displacing longtime residents and small businesses, illegally using residential buildings as office space, making traffic worse than ever, and using private security to intimidate locals.

The community has decided it's time to take a stand. Join the protest on Friday, October 6, at 4:00 pm at Abbot Kinney Blvd. and Brooks Ave.. Follow the link below to get more details on SnapChat's invasion of Venice.

Atwater residents are up in arms over developer Pan Am Equities plans for a large mixed-use complex bordering the LA River. The project includes 419 residential units, 64,000 sq. ft. of commercial space and a 7-story parking garage. In order to build the project, Pan Am is asking the City to grant a general plan amendment and a zone change. Knowing how much the City hates to disappoint developers, it's likely both requests will be granted. Read all about it in the Atwater Village News.

LA needs affordable housing more than anything else, and there is some good news on this front. Work has already started on AMCAL's Meridian Apartments across the street from the Vermont/Beverly Red Line Station. The building is comprised of 100 units for folks making from 30% to 50% of the area median income.

Also currently under construction are the PATH Metro Villas in Rampart Village. Using funds from Measures H and HHH, the project features 187 permanent supportive housing units, and 88 interim housing beds. Residents will have access to a range of services on-site.

Urbanize LA has posted more info on both of these projects. Links are below.

Trees are vital to the health of our environment, but we're losing our urban forest. Earlier this year USC released a study showing that LA's tree cover dropped roughly 14% between 2000 and 2009. McMansions are a big part of the problem, and the study's authors say the City is not planting new trees fast enough to combat the loss. As the climate changes, our urban forest plays a crucial role in fighting rising temperatures and helping to retain stormwater. We need to protect our trees!